The Catholic Defender: The Father Vincent Capodanno Story

Today, I was at the Copeland Center at Fort Hood Texas preparing to work on my resume when I happened to run into a retired Navy Hospital Corpsman Mike McGrath.

He and his wife were present for an event designated for retirees.

Today, there were a number of retired Soldiers, Air Force, Nary, Marines present.

I struck up a conversation with Mr. McGrath as we were leaving for the parking lot.

He told me of his service in Viet Nam, that he had been wounded twice in battle receiving two Purple Hearts.

He also told me about a hero he knew when he was there in Viet Nam. His hero was a Catholic Priest named Father Vincent Capodanno. In reading the following "Medal of Honor" citation, I began to understand why he thought so much of this Priest.

Father Capodanno was a Marine Chaplain who served with his troops. He was killed in the service of his Country being awarded the Medal of Honor. May 19, 2002, his cause for canonization began by the Vatican. He is now refered to as "Servant of God"!

Father Capodanno's official Medal of Honor citation is as follows:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Chaplain of the 3d Battalion, in connection with operations against enemy forces. In response to reports that the 2d Platoon of M Company was in danger of being overrun by a massed enemy assaulting force, Lt. Capodanno left the relative safety of the company command post and ran through an open area raked with fire, directly to the beleaguered platoon. Disregarding the intense enemy small-arms, automatic-weapons, and mortar fire, he moved about the battlefield administering last rites to the dying and giving medical aid to the wounded. When an exploding mortar round inflicted painful multiple wounds to his arms and legs, and severed a portion of his right hand, he steadfastly refused all medical aid. Instead, he directed the corpsmen to help their wounded comrades and, with calm vigor, continued to move about the battlefield as he provided encouragement by voice and example to the valiant Marines. Upon encountering a wounded corpsman in the direct line of fire of an enemy machine gunner positioned approximately 15 yards away, Lt. Capodanno rushed a daring attempt to aid and assist the mortally wounded corpsman. At that instant, only inches from his goal, he was struck down by a burst of machine gun fire. By his heroic conduct on the battlefield, and his inspiring example, Lt. Capodanno upheld the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the cause of freedom.

This is a book covering the life of Father Capodanno.

His Biography is here:
http://www.vincentcapodanno.org/about_fr_capodanno/biography/

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The Catholic Defender: The seed of the Martyrs

(Editors note) Just recently the story of another martyr killed by Muslim Liberals. In watching the video at the end of this article, it was hard for me not to hold back tears. I'm not really a crier, but upon watching it, you will see what I mean. Please keep the Church in suffering in your prayers. I updated a tribute to one such martyr at the end of the article.

This great and glorious day, ALL SAINTS DAY, listening to FOX and FRIENDS, the report of 52 Iraqi Catholics who were held hostage by Islamic Terrorists (Middle Eastern Liberals) to include two Priests, 10 police officers, and several women.

There were about 120 people at Our Lady of Deliverance church when these extremist Muslim terrorist wearing suicide vests stormed the Church.

Many people living in Iraq and the Middle East are crying for freedom.

Many Christians are living in silence not coming out with their Christian faith because of this kind of Islamic threat. American's have had debate recently over the subject of Muslims Terrorists. The liberal talking heads in our Country want to make this a politically correct talking piece.

Joy Bahaar of the VIEW walked off the stage with Whoopi Goldberg at Bill O'Riely's indignation over Muslims (Extremism). Ron Williams was fired by NPR because of a statement he made of Muslims on airplanes. Yet, these same people have said terrible things about Christians.

I'm afraid this terrible story of the true martyrs of Our Lady of Deliverance will be ignored or found on page 10, but these little ones will forever be held in the arms of the Lord.

I have seen first hand this kind of evil from Islamic Terrorists (Middle Eastern Liberals). They would take teenage boys and kill them, then use their bodies placing explosives in them to blow them up when people got near them. They will place suicide vests on and go to a child's soccer game and kill themselves. They will blow themselves up in a crowded market place, their intent is to kill. I was near Baghdad serving in one of the JSS positions when Middle Eastern Liberals attacked 6 Catholic Churches in Baghdad.

Our Knight's of Columbus was trying to help families of hundreds of Iraqi's preparing for their first Holy Communion as Catholic Priests fled the Country for their lives. This is the hard cold facts living there for Christians. The Seed of the Martyrs bear witness to the Lord upon all the earth.

Today is ALL SAINTS DAY, please remember our Brothers and Sisters who are the persecuted Church. May their deaths not be in vain and may the Church here in America have the strength to stand up for what is right in America.

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -
by the Divine Power of God -
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen.

The following is from Associated Press:

BAGHDAD – Iraqi security forces stormed a Baghdad church where militants had taken an entire congregation hostage for four hours, leaving at least 52 people dead, including a priest, Iraqi officials said Monday.

It was not immediately clear whether the hostages died at the hands of the attackers or during the rescue late on Sunday night in an affluent neighborhood of the capital.

The incident began when militants wearing suicide vests and armed with grenades attacked the Iraqi stock exchange at dusk Sunday before turning their attention to the nearby Our Lady of Deliverance church — one of Baghdad's main Catholic places of worship — taking about 120 Christians hostage.

Maj. Gen. Hussein Ali Kamal, the deputy interior minister, said 52 people were killed and 67 wounded, in the bloodbath. Officials said at least one priest and 10 policemen were among the dead. Many of the wounded were women.

A Christian member of parliament on Monday described the Iraqi rescue operation as "not professional," saying "it was a hasty action that prompted the terrorists to kill the worshippers."

"We have no clear picture yet whether the worshippers were killed by the security forces bullets or by terrorists, but what we know is that most of them were killed when the security forces started to storm the church," Younadem Kana said.

Video footage from an American drone that was overhead during the attack showed a black plume of smoke followed by flashes from inside the building before what appears to be soldiers going in. U.S. forces often supply air support to Iraqi forces conducting operations on the ground, feeding them video footage of what American drones see from the air.

The casualty information was confirmed by police and officials at hospitals where the dead and wounded were taken.

There were conflicting accounts about the number of attackers involved in the assault, with Baghdad military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi saying Sunday night that security forces killed eight, while the U.S. military said between five and seven died.

Two police officers on the scene, however, say only three attackers were killed and another seven arrested afterward.

Outside the Syrian Catholic church Monday morning, Raed Hadi leaned against his car on top of which rested a casket holding the body of his cousin, who was killed in the siege. Hadi was waiting for the police to let him onto the church grounds to bury his relative. He railed against Iraqi authorities.

"It was a massacre in there and now they are cleaning it up," said Raed. "We Christians don't have enough protection. ... What shall I do now? Leave and ask for asylum?"

Police pushed back onlookers from around the church by erecting a barbed wire fence but residents and people from the Christian community claimed that it was too little, too late.

A cryptically worded statement posted late Sunday on a militant website allegedly by the Islamic State of Iraq appeared to claim responsibility for the attack. The group, which is linked to al-Qaida in Iraq, said it would "exterminate Iraqi Christians" if Muslim women in Egypt were not freed.

It specifically mentioned two women in Egypt that extremists maintain have converted to Islam and are being held against their will in Egypt. The two are wives of priests and are believed to have converted to Islam to leave their husbands since divorce is banned by Egypt's Coptic Church. One woman disappeared in 2004 and another in July.

Egypt's Christians had maintained they were kidnapped and staged rallies for their release. Both were later recovered by police, denied any conversions and were then spirited away to distant monasteries.

In the message, the militants claim the two are still Muslim and called upon the Vatican, which held a meeting earlier in October to discuss the fate of Christians in the Middle East, to release the women.

"We direct our speech to the Vatican and say that as you met with Christians of the Mideast a few days ago to support them and back them, now you have to pressure them to release our sisters, otherwise death will reach you all," the message said.

Iraqi Christians, who have been frequent targets for Sunni insurgents, have left in droves since the 2003 U.S.-led war. Catholics used to represent 2.89 percent of the population in 1980; by 2008 they were just 0.89 percent.

One Iraqi man who identified himself only as Abu Sami for security reasons, said his wife was inside the church during the attack. Although she was unharmed, he said he feared that the church siege signaled a new round of violence by militants against Iraq's Christian community.

"I expect the coming attacks will be worse in the future since the government is doing nothing to protect us. We are peaceful people and never harmed any of our fellow countrymen, so we do not understand the reasons behind such evil attacks," he said.

"Many Christians now believe that they do not have any hope in Iraq and the best thing to survive is to seek another country to live in," he said.

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Associated Press writers Sinan Salaheddin in Baghdad and Sameer N. Yacoub in Amman, Jordan contributed to this report.

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The Catholic Defender: Catholic Voters Get Guidance From Rome

The following is an article sent to me by Lisa Wheeler of "The Maximus Group". Please consider when you vote:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Lisa Wheeler, The Maximus Group

lwheeler@maximusmg.com; 678-990-9032

Catholic Voters Get Guidance From Rome

Cardinal-designate Raymond Burke in exclusive new interview, “There is a discrimination which is perfectly good and just”

San Diego, October 27, 2010 – As Americans approach the eve of election week, U.S. Cardinal-designate Raymond Burke is reminding Catholics in an exclusive 25-minute video interview that they are bound in conscience to vote for political candidates who oppose aborting babies, embryonic stem cell experiments, euthanasia and so-called homosexual "marriage."

“Millions of Catholics have no idea it’s a sin to vote for candidates who favor these grave evils, which attack the very foundations of society,” said Thomas McKenna, President of Catholic Action for Faith and Family. "This matter-of-fact, pointed interview granted to me by Archbishop Raymond Burke in Rome last week makes it very clear what the responsibility of every American Catholic will be next Tuesday."

In recent years Archbishop Burke, who is prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s “supreme court,” has taught repeatedly that Catholic politicians who support abortion rights may not receive Holy Communion and that Catholics who know of the politicians’ voting record on these issues cannot vote for them and retain “a clear conscience.”

McKenna interviewed Archbishop Burke in Rome on Oct. 20 literally hours after it was announced he would be elevated to Cardinal. The 25-minute interview is being released to help inform Catholic voters before the U.S. elections on Nov. 2nd. Some of the points the Archbishop makes are:

“As a bishop it’s my obligation in fact, to urge the faithful to carry out their civic duty in accord with their Catholic faith.”

“You can never vote for someone who favors absolutely the right to choice of a woman to destroy a human life in her womb or the right to a procured abortion.”

“So, the Catholic Church in teaching that sexual acts between persons of the same sex are intrinsically evil, are against nature itself, is simply announcing the truth, helping people to discriminate right from wrong in terms of their own activities.”

Today, McKenna’s CatholicAction.org will launch two five-minute video on YouTube, and a 25-minute Q&A video interview that is available for broadcast. The three videos all feature Archbishop Burke teaching Catholics about voter responsibility, including key points from his pastoral letter, "On Our Civic Responsibility for the Common Good." The interview can be seen at CatholicAction.org.

For more information about the Archbishop Raymond Burke videos or to interview Thomas McKenna, please contact Lisa Wheeler with The Maximus Group at 678-990-9032 or by email at lwheeler@maximusmg.com.

Catholic Action for Faith and Family is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and promoting Catholic principles.

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